editorNPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Kirk Siegler reports for NPR , based out of NPR West in California. Siegler grew up near Missoula, MT, and received a B.A. in journalism from the University of Colorado. He’s an avid skier and traveler in his spare time.NPR Digital Services RSS Generator 0.94Kirk SieglerFri, 31 Mar 2017 05:58:45 +0000Kirk Sieglerhttp://kmuw.org
Kirk SieglerAs California water officials confirmed Thursday that the snowpack in the Sierra Nevada remains well above average, pressure was mounting on the state to lift emergency water restrictions that have been in place for two years. The snowpack across the mountains is now 164 percent of average, a closely watched marker in the nation's most populous state — and biggest economy — where one-third of all the drinking water comes from snow-fed reservoirs. Two years ago, Gov. Jerry Brown stood in a barren, snow-less meadow near Lake Tahoe and ordered a mandatory 25 percent cut in urban water use. State regulators also followed with a series of tough conservation and enforcement measures against water wasters. Most users in the state met — and in some cases exceeded — the targets, and today, according to the federal government's drought monitor, only about 8 percent of California remains in severe drought. "This is not an emergency," says Rob Hunter, general manager of the Municipal WaterWith Drought Emergency Over, Californians Debate Lifting Water Restrictions http://kmuw.org/post/drought-emergency-over-californians-debate-lifting-water-restrictions
81282 as http://kmuw.orgThu, 30 Mar 2017 21:47:00 +0000With Drought Emergency Over, Californians Debate Lifting Water Restrictions Kirk SieglerAt the very southernmost tip of Illinois, the pancake flat cornfields give way to the rolling, forested hills of the Delta. Here, at the windy confluence of the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, it feels more southern than Midwest when you arrive at the old river port and factory town of Cairo , once made famous in Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn . But Twain might not recognize Cairo today. "People come through Cairo and say 'wow,' " says Phillip Matthews, a pastor and community activist. In the past three decades, his hometown lost half its population. Alexander County is not only the poorest county in Illinois; it's also one of the fastest depopulating counties in the United States. In Cairo, weeds creep up through the cracks in the old brick streets. Whole city blocks are condemned. "I've watched for 40 years this city decline," Matthews says, on a recent tour. Nature is taking over at the abandoned lot that used to house Cairo's largest employer, the Burkart Foam companyTired Of Promises, A Struggling Small Town Wants Problems Solvedhttp://kmuw.org/post/tired-promises-struggling-small-town-wants-problems-solved
81144 as http://kmuw.orgTue, 28 Mar 2017 09:22:00 +0000Tired Of Promises, A Struggling Small Town Wants Problems SolvedKirk SieglerAlong a snowy highway in the Rockies lies Buford, Wyo., elevation: 8,000 feet, population: one. This tiny town is in danger of losing its last — and only — resident, as the town's longest running business may have to close. But this is really a story about three people. The first is Jason Hirsch, Buford's town manager. He mans the Buford Trading Post, which is also the gas station, the store and well, town hall basically. "The politics are pretty easy around here," Hirsch says. "Sometimes you know, you have arguments with yourself." Now despite his role as town manager, Hirsch is not the town's one resident. "I live about three miles south of here, so I like to say I live in the suburbs of Buford," Hirsch says. He leases this tiny little enclave with its very own zip code. The owner — stay with me — is actually a Vietnamese investor named Pham Dinh Nguyen. He's the second character in this story. "Yeah, he bought the place for the sole purpose of promoting his coffee," Hirsch says.Buford: Come for the Coffee, Stay ... To Keep The Tiny Town Openhttp://kmuw.org/post/buford-come-coffee-stay-keep-tiny-town-open
80146 as http://kmuw.orgSun, 05 Mar 2017 11:00:00 +0000Buford: Come for the Coffee, Stay ... To Keep The Tiny Town OpenKirk SieglerIt became clear in the last election that a stark division existed between urban and rural areas. In places such as north Idaho, people with similar political stripes have begun seeking each other out. When Adrien Koch retired last summer from her job with FEMA in the Bay Area, she and her husband resettled in the wooded mountains of north Idaho. They had visited only a few months before on a vacation but had quickly fallen in love. For Koch, Idaho reminded her of the California she knew in the 1970s. "It's kind of like a better time that's gone by," Koch says. "It's a much slower pace, [and] people are more down to earth here." Koch is 62, with graying blond hair. She's sitting on the couch in her Spartan living room. The house she bought in this quiet cul-de-sac is twice as big and half as expensive as the one she sold in California. But that's only one of the reasons why she left. "I did not feel safe because of the crime has escalated and the element that has moved out of SanLeaving Urban Areas For The Political Homogeneity Of Rural Townshttp://kmuw.org/post/leaving-urban-areas-political-homogeneity-rural-towns
79300 as http://kmuw.orgTue, 14 Feb 2017 10:01:00 +0000Leaving Urban Areas For The Political Homogeneity Of Rural TownsKirk SieglerRepublicans want to eliminate one of the nation's newest national monuments. Former President Barack Obama created the 1.3 million-acre Bears Ears National Monument in Utah just days before he left office . At the center of the brewing legal fight is a relatively obscure federal law called the Antiquities Act that dates back to President Teddy Roosevelt, who famously used it early and often. It was meant to protect ancient artifacts and ruins that at the time were being pilfered from western lands. It also allows for a president to protect these sites and the lands around them as national monuments, without going through Congress. "Under the Antiquities Act, there is no ability of having any input," says Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah. Bishop, who chairs the powerful House Committee on Natural Resources, has emerged as one of the act's biggest critics. "No one ever gets to have a say, you don't work out things in advance," Bishop says. "It has to be a gotcha moment where the president unveilsUtah Representative Wants Bears Ears Gone And He Wants Trump To Do Ithttp://kmuw.org/post/utah-representative-wants-bears-ears-gone-and-he-wants-trump-do-it
78901 as http://kmuw.orgSun, 05 Feb 2017 13:11:00 +0000Utah Representative Wants Bears Ears Gone And He Wants Trump To Do ItKirk SieglerCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit MICHEL MARTIN, HOST: We've been reporting on the protests that have sprung up around the country against President Trump's executive order curtailing refugee resettlement and barring entry to the U.S. for citizens of certain countries. NPR's Kirk Siegler is at a protest at Los Angeles International Airport. Kirk, welcome. Thanks so much for joining us. KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: Glad to be here, Michel. MARTIN: So can you tell us what the scene is like there? SIEGLER: Well, it's been steadily growing throughout the afternoon. In fact, protesters arrived here several hours before the scheduled time when this was to begin. They've now streamed out outside of the arrivals hall where they had been chanting and cheering at folks coming into the country. Now they're all standing out on the side. You can hear probably in the background people chanting no fear, immigrants are welcome here. It's a very peaceful protest. And there are a lot of folks - it'sProtests Against Immigration And Refugee Executive Orders Continue At Airportshttp://kmuw.org/post/protests-against-immigration-and-refugee-executive-orders-continue-aiports
78628 as http://kmuw.orgMon, 30 Jan 2017 00:41:00 +0000Protests Against Immigration And Refugee Executive Orders Continue At AirportsKirk SieglerWyoming has become a flash point in the debate over whether hundreds of millions of acres of federal public lands should be turned over to state hands. From Buzz Hettick's place on the edge of the windswept college town of Laramie, it's a short drive into the heart of these remote lands, vast tracts run by the federal Bureau of Land Management. On a recent, blustery morning, Hettick was scouting out an elk hunt in the Laramie range, a patchwork of private and public BLM land north of his home. "A lot of wildlife uses public lands," he says. So do big game hunters like Hettick. Hunting is big business in the rural West and Wyoming is no exception. A recent study estimated it brings in roughly $25 million into Albany County's economy alone. Hettick is eager to show off this land — and talk about protecting access to it — to anyone who will make the trip. "I just don't see how people can look at this out here ... and all they see is a dollar sign attached to it; there's a lot more thanPush To Transfer Federal Lands To States Has Sportsmen On Edgehttp://kmuw.org/post/push-transfer-federal-lands-states-has-sportsmen-edge
77611 as http://kmuw.orgThu, 05 Jan 2017 10:02:00 +0000Push To Transfer Federal Lands To States Has Sportsmen On EdgeKirk SieglerCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST: And there is word tonight of yet another Cabinet decision. President-elect Donald Trump has tapped a freshman Republican congressman from Montana to be his Interior secretary according to several news organizations. Ryan Zinke is a former Navy SEAL commander and an avid outdoorsman. NPR's Kirk Siegler reports that Representative Zinke has won praise for his support of access to public lands in the West. KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: If confirmed as Interior secretary, Congressman Ryan Zinke of Montana would be in charge of managing more than 500 million acres of public lands mostly in the West, including close to 400 national parks and monuments, not to mention countless dams and reservoirs. This is a high-stakes job. Federal lands generate millions of dollars for the recreation and tourism industries as well as mining and cattle grazing. This is land that's open to all of us. It's just that what we can and cannot do on it is aReports: Trump Nominates Rep. Ryan Zinke To Head Interior Departmenthttp://kmuw.org/post/reports-trump-nominates-rep-ryan-zinke-head-interior-department
76745 as http://kmuw.orgWed, 14 Dec 2016 02:32:00 +0000Reports: Trump Nominates Rep. Ryan Zinke To Head Interior DepartmentKirk SieglerA few weeks before the election, the Tri-Pro lumber mill in north Idaho shut down . It was the second mill to close in the area in six months, putting more than a hundred people out of work. While that's big economic loss for any community, it was especially tough for the tight-knit town of Orofino and its 3,000 or so residents. "It's going to be a struggle, quite honestly," says Mike Reggear, the supply manager and only employee left on the Tri-Pro payroll. The mill officially closed Oct. 4, after operating on the site in one incarnation or another for nearly 60 years. The shuttered lumberyard is now eerily quiet as Reggear ties up some loose ends; the old mill, kilns and saws are ready to be hauled out. "There were living-wage jobs [with good benefits] that have now been lost," Reggear says, shaking his head. The story behind Tri-Pro's closure is an all-too-familiar one lately in north Idaho: Reggear says there just wasn't a steady enough supply of logs available locally to keep theIn Idaho Lumber Country, Trump Voters Wait To See If He Can Jumpstart Jobshttp://kmuw.org/post/idaho-lumber-country-trump-voters-wait-see-if-he-can-jumpstart-jobs
76280 as http://kmuw.orgFri, 02 Dec 2016 00:49:00 +0000In Idaho Lumber Country, Trump Voters Wait To See If He Can Jumpstart JobsKirk SieglerThe day after the election, Jen Stebbins-Han's kids came home from school and posed a question that before this year, she says, she might have laughed off. "My kids came home and asked us if their dad was going to be deported," she says. "I don't know where they heard that because it wasn't from us." Stebbins-Han's husband is Korean-American. Jen is white. The couple has three young biracial kids. "There is a part of me that's afraid because I don't know what somebody's going to do because they feel emboldened to be able to," she says. Stebbins-Han grew up in northwest Montana's Flathead Valley, a pristine area wedged between the snow-capped mountains of Glacier National Park and the glacier-fed Flathead Lake. Like a lot of people here with the means, she moved away as a young adult. Five years ago, she returned with her husband so he could take over her dad's orthodontist practice. The couple's kids go to the same little country school Jen and her father and grandfather attended. ButIn Montana, An Unease Over Extremist Views Moving Out Of The Woodshttp://kmuw.org/post/montana-unease-over-extremist-views-moving-out-woods
76132 as http://kmuw.orgTue, 29 Nov 2016 10:06:00 +0000In Montana, An Unease Over Extremist Views Moving Out Of The WoodsKirk SieglerCopyright 2017 NPR. To see more, visit STEVE INSKEEP, HOST: As we wait for Hillary Clinton's concession speech, this is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. With Renee Montagne, I'm Steve Inskeep. DAVID GREENE, HOST: And I'm David Greene. We are trying to make sense of election results from around the country last night. And one of the states we're focusing on is the state of Arizona. John McCain retained his Senate seat in that state. Donald Trump looks to be on his way to winning the state, although votes are still being counted. Yet the tough-on-immigration Sheriff Joe Arpaio lost his seat in Maricopa County. NPR's Kirk Siegler is in Maricopa County, actually in downtown Phoenix, and joins us on the line. Kirk, good morning. KIRK SIEGLER, BYLINE: Good morning, David. GREENE: So remind us about Joe Arpaio. I mean, it's not often that a sheriff gains such nationwide attention, but he certainly has. SIEGLER: He did, for sure, starting really back in 2010 when Arizona passed a slate of lawsElection Results Are Still Coming Out Of Arizonahttp://kmuw.org/post/election-results-are-still-coming-out-arizona
75362 as http://kmuw.orgWed, 09 Nov 2016 16:39:00 +0000Election Results Are Still Coming Out Of ArizonaKirk SieglerThe surprise acquittal of Ammon Bundy and six other militants who occupied a bird sanctuary in Oregon last January has emboldened the movement's militia followers, who claim the federal government has no right to own public land. "We're fighting for our freedoms, for our rights to keep our Constitution," said defendant Shawna Cox, outside a federal court in Portland last week. Reiterating a popular refrain of the Bundys and their sympathizers, Cox said the federal government has no constitutional right to own millions of acres of public land in the West. After the verdict, she further pointed to the Constitution's "Enclave Clause." "According to the Constitution, in Article 1, Section 8, Clause 17, it says the federal government can't own any land unless it is OK'd by the legislature of the states," Cox said. That clause lays out a plan to create a federal district for the U.S. Capitol. Cox says it bars the federal government from controlling any other land in the U.S. that isn't usedBundy Militia Not Backing Down Following Oregon Trial Acquittalhttp://kmuw.org/post/bundy-militia-not-backing-down-following-oregon-trial-acquittal
75120 as http://kmuw.orgFri, 04 Nov 2016 10:39:00 +0000Bundy Militia Not Backing Down Following Oregon Trial AcquittalKirk SieglerAs the six-week trial of Ammon Bundy and his co-defendants wound its way to Thursday's startling conclusion, Bundy's supporters were a colorful presence outside the federal courthouse in Portland, Ore. They dressed in traditional cowboy attire and waved American flags at passing cars. Some even rode horses up and down the busy city sidewalk. A block away, Jarvis Kennedy watched all of this and rolled his eyes. "We don't claim to be victims, but we were," he said. Kennedy is a councilman with the Burns Paiute Tribe in Harney County, Ore. That's the home of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, which armed militants — led by brothers Ammon and Ryan Bundy — occupied in protest of the government's ownership of federal lands. Kennedy was also on the street anxiously awaiting a verdict. When it came, all seven defendants were acquitted of conspiring to impede federal workers from doing their jobs. But the Bundy family's mostly white, anti-government movement has had an unintended effect: ItOregon Occupation Unites Native American Tribes To Save Their Landhttp://kmuw.org/post/oregon-occupation-unites-native-american-tribes-save-their-land
74813 as http://kmuw.orgFri, 28 Oct 2016 00:00:00 +0000Oregon Occupation Unites Native American Tribes To Save Their LandKirk SieglerUpdated at 2:30 p.m. ET The jury hearing the federal trial of seven people who occupied the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in Oregon entered a fourth day of deliberations Wednesday — a day after jurors' ability to reach a verdict came into question. On Tuesday, Oregon Public Broadcasting reports , jurors sent a note to U.S. District Court Judge Anna Brown asking whether they needed to agree on a decision concerning all seven defendants. "If we are able to agree on a verdict for three of the defendants; but are at a stand-off for the others, does our decision for the three stand? Or does this become a mistrial for all the defendants?" the jurors wrote. In a separate note to Brown, one juror expressed concern that another juror's previous work for the Bureau of Land Management could make him biased. Juror No. 11 had revealed his work with the BLM during jury selection proceedings, and had said he did not think it would prevent him from being impartial. On Wednesday, Brown dismissed himOregon Occupation Trial Draws Crowds, But Still No Verdicthttp://kmuw.org/post/oregon-occupation-trial-draws-crowds-still-no-verdict
74743 as http://kmuw.orgWed, 26 Oct 2016 17:38:00 +0000Oregon Occupation Trial Draws Crowds, But Still No VerdictKirk SieglerWhen Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump meet for their third and final debate in Las Vegas on Wednesday — the only one held in the West — they'll be sparring in an important swing state where six electoral votes are up for grabs. But there's another number you should know about that likely won't get much attention, even though it's hugely important to many Westerners: 81 percent. That's the amount of land in Nevada that's currently owned, operated and controlled by the federal government. Like in much of the Mountain West, the federal government's ownership and management of public lands in Nevada is hugely controversial — in Nevada, the government owns 58 million acres. Decisions about who gets to do what on those lands are almost always political and the subject of bitter fights, in large part, because in rural areas, many people's livelihoods are at stake — whether they be federal employees, outfitters, tour guides or ranchers. So this past summer when the Republican NationalHere's One Controversy You May Not Hear About In The Final Clinton-Trump Debatehttp://kmuw.org/post/heres-one-controversy-you-may-not-hear-about-last-trump-clinton-debate
74431 as http://kmuw.orgWed, 19 Oct 2016 10:01:00 +0000Here's One Controversy You May Not Hear About In The Final Clinton-Trump DebateKirk SieglerA large flock of sandhill cranes squawks overhead as Brenden Quinlan watches what's left of an early season snow storm roll off the massive Steens Mountain; the snow turning to sleet and then rain as it soaks the wetlands of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in remote eastern Oregon. "It's something I find that's medicinal [to] come and hang out here," Quinlan says. "It's quiet." This was Quinlan's first visit to the refuge in 44 years. He used to come with his Dad as a kid. It hadn't occurred to him to return until this year, when he and his wife watched with alarm as armed militants took over the bird sanctuary, an anti-federal government protest that unfolded for 41 days of drama online and on the nightly news. His wife, a native Oregonian, had never heard of the refuge, and Quinlan responded, "Oh my God we have to go." So they planned this year's week-long vacation here. "That's what brought us here, those guys," he says, grinning. The Quinlans stayed for the nature. Long beforeAnti-Government Standoff Puts Oregon's Malheur Back On Tourist Maphttp://kmuw.org/post/anti-government-standoff-puts-oregons-malheur-back-tourist-map
74177 as http://kmuw.orgWed, 12 Oct 2016 21:47:00 +0000Anti-Government Standoff Puts Oregon's Malheur Back On Tourist MapOn a recent Saturday in Burns, Ore., Cheryl Smith decided to have a little fun. Dressed as a farmer in a floppy hat and overalls, she joined other costume-clad ranchers, loggers and miners on a flatbed float passing through the center of town during the annual Harney County Fair parade. They waived American flags and passed out pocket-sized copies of the U.S. Constitution while standing above a sign reading "Endangered Species: Who's Endangered? The People and Our Way of Life." The Endangered Species Act is a familiar target of Ammon Bundy and his militia supporters, who came to Oregon's remote Harney County and took over the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge earlier this year. Even though the occupiers were arrested more than eight months ago, it's clear their message is still resonating with people like Smith in this rural outpost. The trial for the militants is close to wrapping up. "I hope they'll be acquitted," she says. "I don't believe the charges." Roughly the size of MarylandOre. Community Becomes Unwilling Symbol For Anti-Government Movementhttp://kmuw.org/post/ore-community-becomes-unwilling-symbol-anti-government-movement
74154 as http://kmuw.orgWed, 12 Oct 2016 17:18:00 +0000Ore. Community Becomes Unwilling Symbol For Anti-Government Movement#NPRreads is a weekly feature on Twitter and The Two-Way. The premise is simple: Correspondents, editors and producers from our newsroom share the pieces that have kept them reading, using the #NPRreads hashtag. Each weekend, we highlight some of the best stories. From Reporter Kirk Siegler: Here's the money quote from this smart profile of US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack: "I just think rural America is a forgotten place." Vilsack has staked much of his political career on rural America – first as governor of Iowa and later in the Obama Administration. I was also struck by the fact that the Secretary admitted to at times in the cabinet literally having nothing to do. As someone who grew up in rural America and now covers it frequently for NPR, I have to say I wasn't that surprised. So many issues in "flyover country" often do take a backseat to other pressing national priorities – including until recently, the opioid epidemic that's disproportionately affecting rural areas. Part#NPRreads: Two Looks At America — And One Look At America's Pastimehttp://kmuw.org/post/nprreads-two-looks-america-and-one-look-americas-pastime
73731 as http://kmuw.orgSat, 01 Oct 2016 15:43:00 +0000#NPRreads: Two Looks At America — And One Look At America's PastimeKirk SieglerJust after dawn, on a rutted out dirt road west of Las Vegas, Nev., Bureau of Land Management Ranger Shane Nalen steers his four by four over a small hill. "You never know what you're going to roll up on out here," he says, his dispatch radio squawking in the background. A panoramic view of the rugged Nevada desert unfolds. But there's also something peculiar. The desert carpet is lit up with reflecting lights shimmering in the soft morning sun. Nalen stops and hops out for a closer look. It's been a problem area for him, he says, pointing out the culprit, thousands of spent, steel shotgun shell casings. It turns out this is just one of scores of unofficial target shooting areas in Nalen's jurisdiction. Since the last time he visited, much to his chagrin, it's also turned into a trash dump. "We've got a couple of mattresses, looks like some hazmat," he says. "Somebody built a fire here." A home-made target is propped up on the arm of a Joshua tree. Someone spray painted part of theFederal Officers Face Hostility Amid Tension Over Control Of Federal Landshttp://kmuw.org/post/federal-officers-face-hostility-amid-tension-over-control-federal-lands
73034 as http://kmuw.orgTue, 13 Sep 2016 20:51:00 +0000Federal Officers Face Hostility Amid Tension Over Control Of Federal LandsKirk SieglerWhen 2 feet of rain fell, and the Vermillion River swelled its banks earlier this month, the mayor of Maurice, La., Wayne Theriot, got hit with a double whammy: He lost his home and his office. The two are just a couple of hundred yards apart in this small town of about 1,000 people that straddles Vermillion and Lafayette parishes in a largely rural corner of the state. "You're in City Hall — what's left of it," he says, pointing to the ruined furniture and computers in the tiny three-room building. The walls are stained by fouled floodwater and fans are running nonstop to try to dry things, a familiar whirling sound across southern Louisiana these days. The computers are ruined. His staff and their spouses are hauling out boxes of files into a modular building next door that will serve as the temporary city hall. Theriot and his wife are now living in an RV they happened to buy a little while ago. "That motor home was big when we bought it," he says, laughing. "But now that we'reLocals In Flooded Rural Areas Of Louisiana Say Aid Is Slow To Arrive http://kmuw.org/post/locals-flooded-rural-areas-louisiana-say-aid-slow-arrive
72284 as http://kmuw.orgFri, 26 Aug 2016 09:04:00 +0000Locals In Flooded Rural Areas Of Louisiana Say Aid Is Slow To Arrive